Quotes that Inspire
Who is it that can make muddy water clear? No one. But left to stand, it will gradually clear of itself. ~Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 
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Thursday, May 21, 2009
Each morning when I go to my computer I am greeted by inspirational quotes. Not only do they help me start my day on a positive note, but they help me remember ...
... remember who I am and what purpose I am here to serve.
... remember the virtues of Spirit that reside within me: my peace, my joy, my love.
... remember how to be in relationship with others with patience and lovingkindness.
... remember how to access my inner wisdom.
My favorite quotes come from http://www.gratefulness.org/. This is a lovely website and community established by Br. David Steindl-Rast. Its focus is interspiritual, providing inspiration and resources sourced in the world's wisdom traditions.
The quote featured above showed up in my e-mail box this week. It purports something I strive to remember, as well as to share with those whom I mentor: When we are stressed or overwhelmed, and in need of making a decision, it is wise to wait. No clarity can be found when the pond water of our mind is stirred up and murky.
It takes positive intention, time, and patience for our thoughts to settle, for our emotions to stabilize. And when they do, then it is appropriate to make a move, to render a decision.
What about you? Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you? Or a tried and true source of quotes that uplift or guide you?
I am eager to hear your choices. Do tell ...
~~~~~
Make a post here sometime in May and be entered into the current Book Giveaway contest. I'm gifting a copy of the spiritual classic, Crossing to Avalon, by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.
(Image courtesty of istockphoto.com)
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24 comments:
Hi Jan, every morning I receive beautiful inspirational emails from Tut.com and DailyOM. Both sites give me that boost I need. As for quotes these are my favorites:
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
"It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are."
-e.e. Cummings
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." -Mahatma Gandhi
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?" -Martin Luther King, Jr
That is a beautiful quote. I keep a gratitude journal of quotes that resonate with me, from any source you can imagine ~ movies, books, cards, my children, friends. One example is a quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson, which was also on the card I sent my mother this year for mother's day: "What lies behind you and what lies before you pales in significance when compared to what lies within you." Another quote that has come to mind quite a bit recently is "This too shall pass."
My daughter and I were just talking about a favorite quote of ours today. It's a quote about the sea that evokes a sense of recognition and peace. I think you will like it too, Jan.
“We all came from the sea. All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean ...
we are tied to the ocean, and when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came.”
JOHN F. KENNEDY - SEPTEMBER. 14, 1962
Jan,thanks for the wonderful quote and your explanation.
quotes are great tools for self-improvement and are gems of wisdom.I make note of quotes in a special book and look them up when in need of motivation.I give one quote from there "we are what we think.All that we are arises with our thoughts and with our thoughts we make our world"-BUDDHA
So tough to choose! I love the one you chose. Two of my favorites are:
"There is no higher religion than truth." by Theosophy founder Helena Blavatsky
and
"One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying." from Joan of Arc (to think she was only 19!!!)
It's taken me a long time to learn that and I still haven't perfected it. I LOVE quotes and am an unofficial collector of them.
I would have to say that the one quote that resonates most deeply and consistently for me and is most powerful in my life is Psalm 47:10 "Be still and know that I am God."
I love quotes! Here are my favorites:
Every step of the journey is the journey. (Lao Tzu)
We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.(Steven Covey)
To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.
~ Robert Louis Stevenson
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting."
~ E. E. Cummings
These are two of my favorite quotes. They remind me of the years I spent/wasted feeling guilty for trying to determine and honor who I am, what I wanted, my dreams, my purpose and my passion.
They sit on the wall above my desk as a daily reminded and inspiration:
- to stay true to myself even when I am eager to stretch and grow.
- to be grateful for all the aspects of myself that do not fit the world's definition of successful, beautiful and sexy.
- to seek God for wisdom and grace to inspire other women to know, understand, honor and be grateful for the seeming complexities the make them unique.
- to encourage other women to seek, explore and live their own dreams, purposes and passions with gratitude, with joy and with a heart for compassion and service.
- to give my best efforts to living my best life with gratitude, simplicity and passion.
Jan, we're on the same page!
I am also inspired by quotes, and have kept a day book of favorites for years. Whenever I found a quote in a book or a magazine that resonated, I copied it on a slip of paper, then re-copied it later in my day book. I now have hundreds of quotes that I've collected since I was a lit major in college!
When I began column writing, I often used an inspirational (or literary) quote as a jumping point for a topic, especially if I felt blocked or at a loss for a theme. The quote would always get me started. Today, I still traditionally include a favorite quote with my pieces, even if I didn't "need" it as a jumpstart.
Okay, all. You officially have me in tears. I am soooo moved by what you have shared here. My heart is deeply touched by your beautiful responses, your passion, and also this bountiful banquet of quotes--all of which feel like passages I would choose myself. I will copy them all down and put them in my journal. Thank you, thank you!
I will also offer you some of my favorites. The quote I featured here just happened to pop up when I needed it most. Isn't it wonderful when that happens? Thank you, Universe! I'd been swirling a bit in a pool of family junk and needed a reminder of how to get clear about it all. The answer came: Just wait, "be still and know"... one of my faves too, Carolynn. The joys of kindred spirits...
I will respond, in time, to each of you, but am just home from some travel (made this post late last night from the road) and now am dashing off to spend Grandparents' Day with our precious granddaughter at her school. I understand they have prepared a little play for us and I am excited to be engaged in simple pleasures again...
quotes are sort of an odd thing for me... i really don't go looking for them, nor do i keep a notebook of them or feel particularly drawn to use them, and certainly not compelled to ever memorize them...i will see quotes sort of by accident on the sites of others, usually with a casual glance or reading of them... i've actually tried in the past very hard to get more "into" quotes, and it just doesn't work that way for me...
what IS so incredibly powerful is how with no effort at all, i may be having a conversation with someone, and very spontaneously something may bubble up into that conversation... of a story or a quote that i remember from "somewhere"... it always takes me by surprise when that happens because i'm never really paying that much attention to them when i actually see them... it often seems that quote (usually paraphrased by myself) is meant for that one moment, like a little bottle of elixir that expires in that moment, and i may or may not ever refer back to it again...
Thank you for that wonderful quote and link to the gratefulness.org website, Jan!
One of my alltime favorite quotes is by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion;
It is easy in solitude to live after our own;
But the great (wo)man is (s)he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
And of course, the Buddha's quote:
With our thoughts we make the world.
I'm finding new favorite quotes every day, in so many places, I don't think I have a favorite place.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
It's funny that you write of this today. It answers my question as to why I haven't been inspired to write for the past week or so. I guess I don't have clarity because of some murkiness right now. Now I know I should just wait and not worry about it. Thanks for your thoughts...
Tabitha,
Thanks for these great site finds. I will check them out! The quotes you choose are so full of passion for life, to live authentically, and to be of service to others. Wonderful!
Sharon,
Your gratitude journal sounds like a beautiful effort and source of comfort too. The Emerson quote speaks of greatness. Thank you!
Joanne,
You are right. I absolutely love this. I had no idea JFK spoke of such a thing. I will treasure this one, especially, because I do love quotes about the sea...
I have an entire folder of nature quotes. :-)
Sema,
This one you have chosen is one of my faves too, but not just a favorite, a foundational truth upon which my own reality is based. You, too, I surmise..
Lisa (MM),
These are great. I resonate with each very deeply. I had a wise spiritual teacher say to me once that he hoped I would continue being faithful to my path, no matter the cost. At the time, it struck a fearful note in me, but what he said was true. Sticking to the path has its risks and, in many ways, we lose our lives, only to find them in new, unforeseen, yet glorious ways. Like Joan of Arc...
This quote is a great reminder not only for ourselves but our relations with others. We can't force change on anyone.
How about least favorite quotes? Someone above mentioned "This too shall pass..." It's an awful reminder of your situation when you happen to have an incurable illness.
But if I'm not being completely subjective, it's a quote I truly like. It's good for most things that come our way and contains a great deal of wisdom.
How's this for a great related quote:
"Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."
That's a hard one. I love so many. How about this poem:
The bud stands for all things
even those things that don't flower
for everything flowers from within, of self-blessing
though sometimes it is necessary to re-teach a thing its loveliness
to put a hand on its brow of the flower and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing.
Galway Kinnell
Lovely post. I like many, start my day with my note from the universe, by TUT. I read this qoute today, and loved it, so will enclude it;
A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked.
anais nin
Hi Jan, I just came over from Lisa's site. You've certainly got some wonderful posts. Here is a quote that I've recently come upon and like..
"People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering." --- St Agustine
Carolynn,
This, too, is one of my all time favorites. In fact, when I was in my spiritual direction training program, we were taught a meditative practice using this passage. You begin by saying the full passage silently, "Be still and know that I am God." Then pause and sink into silence. Repeat it again, but each time drop off a word or two. Here is the order:
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
It is a lovely practice that can calm and center you. Enjoy!
Caroline,
I, too, love these. Especially wisdom sourced in the Tao Te Ching. It is so simple and clear....
Are you familiar with some modern day interpretations of the Tao by William Martin? He has 3 I believe. My favorite is The Couple's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Lovers.
Here's a selection:
"It is the space within the walls of a house
that gives a family room to live.
Create a space for each other
free from "oughts" and "shoulds"
where you both can safely live,
and all manner of joy will be yours."
You can learn more about him and his books at:
www.thestillpoint.com. Enjoy!
Cheryl,
The quotes you share are power-packed! I am so happy to hear that these (and others) have guided you into a stronger, more vibrant and true version of yourself. Carry on!
Cindy,
I have folders and notebooks and journals full of quotes too. The problem is I never really organized them. Any suggestions???? Yes, I like to start with a quote for my writing even though it may not need one. I also use them for writing prompts when I am feeling a bit stuck. :-)
Angela,
These are wonderful quotes. I will "borrow" each of them and copy them into a journal. The line that strikes me in the Emerson poem is "keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." To me, this means a woman until herself. In archetypal stories, the "Virgin," the one who stands strong and sure, yet supple and receptive to life as it comes.
Liz,
I am glad that the quote struck home and stirred something in you. I think this is what quotes can do for us--turn us back to our center by reminding us of what our conscious mind has clouded. Happy it served you today!
Joanne and Paul,
I wanted to address your comments aside from the others. Both of you bring up an an interesting point. You remind me that so much of what we experience is subjective...that each person brings a different viewpoint to the table of life. Each of us sees and feels things in a unique way. What works for one may definitely not work for another. You remind us not to generalize (as I may have done here that quotes always inspire).
Quotes, on the other hand, may make us pause to think, to ponder, to go deeper, even to acknowledge our discontent, or our pain or suffering. We don't necessarily have to like what they say--as we don't necessarily have to like what other people have to say. But it is in the listening, the interpretation, and the appreciation (even if we disagree) about what has been said, that makes meaning of something.
I appreciate the fact that you both spoke your truth on this issue. Thank you for this gentle reminder.
COMMERCIAL BREAK. Here is one of my all time favorite quotes, this one from His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
"My religion is kindness." I would like to think that someday we could set aside our religious differences and come to common ground; access the stream of compassion that runs through most religious traditions. Live out of a place of kindness as our creed and change the world, one kind act at a time. :-)
Mermaid,
I LOVE this passage, in fact, loved it so much I included it in the epilogue of my book. It seemed to summarize everything I thought and felt...So nice to know it resonates with you too!
Annie,
Yours reminds me of one of my faves by Richard LeGallienne: "I meant to do my work today, but a brown bird sang in the apple tree, and butterfly flitted across the field, and all the leaves were calling me. " :-)
Evelyn,
Welcome! So glad you came over from Lisa's-one of my very favorite people in the whole world. The thought you share here is stunning. It gives great pause... I'm coming over now to take a peek at your site.
That quote at the top of the post really speaks to me, it is so easy to stir things up to try and find an answer, whereas the wisdom lies in letting things lie to sort themselves out. It's an important lesson and one that can be so difficult to learn
Dear Ms. Crafty Green,
Thanks for visiting. I appreciate and agree with your thoughts on letting things be to sort themselves out. With time, clarity comes, then wisdom. Perhaps that is why patience is considered a virtue. Waiting can be a very good thing! But something most of need to cultivate. I visited your site. Just Lovely!
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